While California continues to lead the nation in poverty-level incomes, the decline in the number of its impoverished residents is noteworthy.

Fresh stats from the U.S. Census Bureau’s supplemental poverty yardstick show California in 2018 had 7.13 million residents living on poverty-level incomes. Yes, it’s the biggest count among the states — ahead of Texas (4 million), Florida (3.4 million) and New York (2.8 million).

The Golden State’s poverty looks even more unnerving when you consider its national-leading population: 18.2% of California residents are impoverished according to this census standard. Only Washington, D.C., scored worse, and California’s poverty level is far above the 12.5% rate for the rest of the nation.

But the drop in California’s poverty levels since the Great Recession ended must be noted, too. My trusty spreadsheet found that since 2011, one-quarter of the national decline in poverty can be tied to California. The state had the largest decline in its poverty ranks and the No. 2 drop in its share of residents living on poverty incomes.

This census math deciphers people’s deep financial troubles in novel ways. It tracks costs of living, reflecting state-by-state differences, and a part of this measurement hits California hard. Spending is compared with a broad definition of income, including government subsidies with which California is known to be quite generous.

Now the calculations are by no means perfect. It just deals only with income, so assets owned — from investments, bank accounts or real estate — are not part of the equation. And since this report is so new, we have only a post-recession picture.

It’s no secret that California is a pricey place to live, and those costs stretch — if not batter — many household checkbooks. Plus, the state’s big concentrations of lower-paying industries such as agriculture and tourism make life difficult for those workers.

Nevertheless, I’ll note the progress. California’s poverty count fell last year by 332,000, largest drop in number among the states. Yet the year’s 4.4% decline was meager on a percentage basis: 15th worst among the states and below the 6.2% poverty dip in the rest of the nation.

Please note that 2017 saw a bigger California improvement: a 493,000 cut in those living in poverty, again the top drop in the country. This 6.2% decline was 12th-best nationally and almost tripled a 2.4% reduction seen in the rest of the U.S.

Falling poverty levels have been a post-recession trend. Rejuvenated job markets were the biggest help.

California added 2.8 million jobs between 2011 and 2018, according to federal employment figures. It was the biggest hiring spree among all states, accounting for one in six of the 17 million jobs added nationwide.

But in a pricey state like California, that probably wasn’t enough for many financially challenged households. The state had a net migration to other states of 660,000 in the past seven years, according to the California Department of Finance. It’s a good bet that money factored into many of those relocations.

1. Since 2011, 1.64 million fewer Californians were living in poverty. That’s a flock larger than the entire populations of a dozen states. It’s 60 times larger than Texas’ 27,000 poverty drop over these seven years. And it’s greater than the next five biggest declines combined: Illinois at 349,000; Georgia at 334,000, Michigan at 305,000, New York at 279,000 and Arizona at 270,000.

2. In those seven years, California’s share of citizens living in poverty fell from 23.5% to 18.2% — only Arizona had a bigger drop.

3. Even percentage-wise, California’s 19% drop in poverty incomes since ’11 was seventh-best among the states, handily besting the 10.4% shrinkage in the rest of the nation.

4. Or look at the decline this way: Since 2011, 28% of the nation’s 5.8 million who rose from the ranks of the impoverished can be tied to California.

Jonathan Lansner has been the Orange County Register's business columnist since 1997 and has been part of the newspaper's coverage of the local business scene since 1986. He is a native New Yorker who is a past national president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Jon lives in Trabuco Canyon -- yes, a homeowner -- and when he's not fiddling with his trusty spreadsheet at work you can likely find him rooting for his beloved Anaheim Ducks or umpiring local lacrosse games.

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